No one would dare exclude Ukraine from World Championship elite division, former ice hockey official says

Kalervo Kummola, former vice president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), is confident that Ukraine will not be pushed out of the elite division of the 2027 World Ice Hockey Championship to make room for Russia.

Source: Finnish newspaper Iltalehti

Details: Kummola said he had discussed the issue with the new IIHF president. He stressed that it had been made clear that any decision to exclude Ukraine and replace it with Russia would be impossible to implement, adding that no one would dare to make such a decision.

Background:

• The Court of Arbitration for Sport recently ordered the IIHF to allow Russian teams to compete in several competitions during the 2026-27 season.
• Russia's return to international ice hockey could cost Ukraine its place in the elite division of the 2027 World Championship. The Ukrainian national team recently qualified for the division for the first time in 20 years.

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